Winter 2013 Issue of The Planetary Report Now Available Online

The Winter 2013 issue of The Planetary Report is finally on press and will be mailing soon. I apologize for its lateness and I’ll be working hard to get us back on schedule.  

The good news is that the electronic version is available online here for all of you who receive the magazine electronically. And, for those of you who can’t wait for your hard copy to arrive, you can start reading now.

I’m especially excited about this issue because we have some unique treats for you.

The first is our inside cover. There we showcase a special image—the recently named Bruce Murray ridge on Mars. Because it’s a panorama, we made the cover a fold-out so the picture spans three pages. 

Speaking of the Red Planet, how about those Mars Exploration Rovers? To celebrate Spirit and Opportunity’s ten years on Mars, we asked A.J.S. Rayl, the Society’s MER mission chronicler par excellence, to give us an insider’s view on MER’s “against-the-odds” path to glory. She would know—she’s the only journalist to have been embedded with the team since the mission’s beginning. Come celebrate with us over at our Rover Party webpage. You can even send a message to the MER team!

As is our custom at year’s end, we also feature Emily Lakdawalla’s “Year in Pictures.” Here, Emily highlights a few of 2013’s most memorable and important events in space with more of the amazing imagery we’ve come to expect from her. We’d love to know which of these images you like best and why. Click here to cast your vote.

Most of us think of vacuuming up dirt as—well—a humble activity. But PlanetVac is changing all that! Bruce Betts details the successful testing of this extraordinary planetary surface sampling system.

Plus, Bill Nye celebrates forward motion for the Society, and Casey Dreier sees a bit of brightness in the future for NASA. 

If this sounds good to you, but you aren’t a Member of The Planetary Society, just click here to sign up and your magazine will soon be in your mailbox. If only all problems were so easy to fix.

Enjoy!

Donna Stevens

Senior Editor

The Planetary Report